Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 EarForce X2 Wireless Headset Headphones (for Xbox, PC also)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For $80, I was expecting more. These things are large, and the included stand is lightweight and falls over. They fit comfortably on my head, but the plastic feels cheap and the band isn't as tight as I would like. I have a normal sized head, so the cranium isn't the issue.

Sound quality is on the high end of average. Extreme bass doesn't sound that great when cranked up, but at reasonable volumes, it is just fine.

If I had to do it over again, I would probably buy something else spending a little more if necessary. If you need wireless headphones that also allow you to talk on XBOX live, I don't know of a competing product that beats this.

I needed a headset/headphone combination so I can play without disturbing other people while not missing out on vital game sound effects and music. This seemed like the product to get, so I did so.

Pros:
Wireless... sort of. You still need to hook up a wire from headphone to controller for mic functions.
white matches 360.
headset/headphone works well.
Xtremely comfortable fitment.
Easy installation.

Cons:
Need to cross R w/ L as the other reviewers have said. Even the turtlebeach site says this.
The wireless distance isn't far. Anything that get in between sender to headset will cut off sound, such as a hand wave...etc.
Sender is bulky and is not a hide away unit.
Left ear is louder than right.
In Gears of War, my setting for the effects is down to 1, music off, and chat volume max. My chat gets drowned out by game effects still. For example when the train rolls by I completely can not hear my team chat...
After a few weeks my mic broke. Need to send in for RMA.

I've since reverted back to the oem headset.

I just purchased this today and was a bit apprehensive after reading from other reviewers about the sound cutting out. Once I set everything up and started playing Gears of War and FEAR I was extremely satisfied. The sound never cut out no matter how loud I turned it up. I did have the very minor issue that someone else mentioned about the audio being reversed. Just had to place red with white and white with red to fix it. Hopefully the company is reading these posts to get the wiring correct for the next batch! It's very comfortable and light so you won't even feel like you're wearing anything while playing. Very satisfied with the headset.

I use headphones when I play late at night and don't want to disturb my wife. I had been using the Tritton True 5.1 Audio Xtreme Headset, but while the sound quality is excellent, I has a lot of trouble hearing teammates during games. Plus, there are 4 dials and 2 switches (each with 4 different settings). So it's very complicated.

Not so with Turtle Beach's 360 EarForce X2 headphones. While the overall sound quality is lower, you can hear other players very well. I much prefer these headphones over the higher-end Trittons.

If you need headphones to also listen to movies, TV, etc, get the Trittons. But if they will just be used for Xbox Live gameplay, get the Turtle Beach unit.

With either set, remember to adjust your personal settings, "Voice" to "play through headset and speakers."

Hope this helps!

Pros:
- Wireless
- Works with Xbox 360 Live
- Very good sound quality
Cons:
- Base unit stops transmitting if long intervals of near silence occur.
- Audible white noise when there is no sound being transmitted

Overall I would say these headphones are excellent for the price. I am no audiophile so they are perfect for listening to music off of my PC. But they really shine when it comes to playing Xbox live, which is the primary reason I bought them. Finally I can hear the game and the players and communicate with them all through the same headset. Everything sounds great, although you will have to tweek the game volume settings in order to get a good balance between the voices of the other players and the game sounds. The only downsides that I have seen are 1) during long periods of near silence the base unit will stop transmitting sound. I say "near" silence because it has cut out at times when there were still audible sounds being tranmitted, they were just low volume. I experienced this in between Gears of War matches when only a couple of people are talking. It's not a big deal it will kick back in as soon as a loud enough sound occurs and there plenty of those in that game. 2) when you first turn on the headphones you will notice some audible white noise. I think that is pretty typical for IR wireless headsets. You won't notice it at all when you start listening to music or while gaming. I give this unit 4 stars just because I know there are better quality headsets out there, but for this price it rocks.

Overall
I'm an avid gamer and overall I am pleased with this product as it is probably the best of it's kind on the market as of today (Dec '06)!

Setup
I had no problems setting this product up although I would suggest following the user guide b/c it is confusing otherwise.

Quality
The sound quality is good enough for the price. The base is pretty decent which I was surprised by. I can adjust the sound settings as needed (note: the manual touches on this specifically).

Comfort
The headset is comfortable and light-weight.

Additional Uses
I can even use the device to listen to MP3's or DVD's if I'm using my Xbox 360, which is cool. I haven't tried to use it for other applications but it should be able to work for other devices (the company lists PC as 1 of it's uses), you'll need standard RCA jacks or perhaps you could get some sort of converter kit if you only have a mini-jack input.

Signal Strength
Works fine from 10 feet which is as far as I've tried it. You do have to be within sight distance to use the product, the signal will not recieve around obstructions although others may still be able to hear your Team Chat even if you can't hear them because the Team Chat goes through the 360 controller's wireless signal as opposed to the infrared signal that the headphone's use for In Game Audio.

Battery Life
The battery life is really good from my experience. I have used the product for about 10-12 hours total and have not had to replace the provided batteries. Even so, I plan to get some rechargable AAA's as batteries can get expensive after a while.

Drawbacks
I didn't realize I would need to plug in a cord to my 360 controller but I guess that is not a huge biggy.
The Mic Boom has to stay on your right side which I was not aware of. It's always been a personal preference of mine to have my Mic Boom on the left side but again no biggy.

Summary
Whether you're a recreational or extreme gamer I think this is a great product overall if you require Actual Game Sound and Team Chat capabilities.

If you use chat, don't buy these headphones.

When chatting, the microphone frequently picks up electronic interference. My teammates complain of loud humming, and my voice becomes quiet or completely inaudible. One minute it'll be working great, and the next minute it's worthless.

On the plus side, they're very comfortable and the sound is great compared to my little TV speakers. And when it's actually working, the microphone sounds better than the standard Microsoft headset.

If you use chat, you'll be better off with the standard Microsoft headset. If you don't use chat, you'll probably like these.

I buddy of mine has this headset and loves it (hasn't had any problems), so I ignored the two other reviews and purchased one. Turns out I should have just spent my money elsewhere. I had the same problems with three different games (Project Gotham Racing 3, Need for Speed and GRAW). Once the game audio starting building, the volume would either drop or cut out completely. Rev an engine...audio cuts out...two guys shooting...audio cuts out. Other problems included the sound was reversed (noise on right side of screen came in on left headset, even though I had everything wired correctly) and horrible sound quality through the mic. No one that I was playing online with could hear me, even with the mic up against my mouth.

Maybe I just got a bad unit...but it was so bad I didn't even bother to try a second one, I just returned it and got my money back.

Well when these worked they worked fine other than the fuzz you get if you block the path to the receiver. But after a few months things started breaking randomly on them. First my mic started going screwy and now I have to press down on the connector to even be able to talk. Plus I picked them up recently and twisted them just a bit and the casing on the headphone cracked. So if you want something that's going to last a long time and give a good sound don't choose these.

My first EarForce X2 didn't work-- the connection to the mic input on the controller is flimsy (they call it "lightweight" in the documentation).

I returned it and got another. This time the connection worked, but even at max volume, it was about 1/5 as loud as my standard XBox Live Headset. Nobody online could hear me unless they cranked their volume way up.

The instructions say to try removing the windscreen, turning the mic in other directions, and so on. That got me up to about 1/4 my standard volume.

I guess if you aren't going to be using the mic, these are decent.